The NCAA makes a profit of over 6 billion dollars a year, that's a 6 followed by 9 zeros(Eitzen)! College athletes are being taken advantage of because of their skill and talent. To the NCAA these athletes are just numbers that turn into profit. Throughout their college career, student athletes aren't allowed to receive any compensation from anyone. They aren't allowed to star in commercials or brand themselves. The NCAA is very strict and unfair. These players are practically slaves to the NCAA. Defenders of the current system say these players are paid by having free tuition. But, not all get a full scholarship, most have to pay through loans. This is all happening while the NCAA is piling in the money. College athletes deserve some gratitude for all the money they are making for this organization and also for their school.

College athletes are much different than a regular college student. These athletes train extremely hard 6 days a week and according to, Slaves of Big Time College Sports, these athletes only get 3 meals a day through their scholarship. Do you believe 3 meals a day are enough for athletes that are the average height of 6,4 and 200lbs plus? According to howstuffworks, an average person should have about 2000 calories a day while a college athlete should obtain about 3000 to 4000 calories a day(Jacobs). That's twice as much as a regular person. Since this is true doesn't it make sense that athletes should receive more meals?

People say that college players are being paid through tuition. They believe free education equals the amount these players make for their college. I would disagree. Patrick Ewing former Knick attended Georgetown for 4 years. During this period of time, he made the college over 12,000,000 dollars while his tuition cost 48,600 over 4 years(Eitzen). Georgetown University made a profit of 11,951,400. If this is what people considered fair then their insane.

The NCAA is an organization of spoiled brats. They are using these skilled athletes to create a profit for themselves. Zero dollars of this profit goes to benefit these athletes.The NCAA signed a contract with CBS for 11 years. In these 11 years they will gain a total of 6,200,000,000. This money is for allowing CBS to cover the NCAA men's basketball championship game(Eitzen). For 11 games the NCAA will gain over 6 billion dollars. Out of this money none goes to the college athletes. The NCAA is allowed to advertise and college coaches are allowed to have shoes deals(Eitzen). This is hypocritical, they say athletes are not allowed to advertise or sign with agents but while they say this, coaches who already have huge wages can make even more money. The NCAA is cheating these players. These athletes are working while the NCAA is collecting the check.

The NCAA is restricting these athletes. This is similar to how society limited individuals in Anthem by Ayn Rand. These athletes want to receive compensation but aren't allowed too. Equality says “But what is freedom? Freedom from what? There is nothing to take a man's freedom away from him, save other men. To be free, a man must be free of his brothers(Rand).” In Anthem, these individuals aren't allow to be individuals. They have to be the same as their fellow citizens. They aren't allowed to be free. This is similar to how the NCAA doesn't allow athletes to be free, they are placed under rules and policies that confine them.  Equality states “So we fought against this curse. We tried to forget our lessons, but we always remembered.(Rand)”. Equality explains how even though they are fighting for individualism, they always remember that their society is equal and no one is allowed to be free and unique. Similar to now in college sports, athletes try to be individuals but they are so confined that they aren't able to. They have no way to fight against it. They have no say. In both Anthem and college sports, the individuals are held hostage, they have no freedom. They are confined by their society. In Siddhartha it states ““I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value(Hesse).” This quote relates to a learning process and value. College athletes deserve the right to learn how to manage their money. If they mess up, they will learn from it. Giving money to college athletes has value for their future.  Both these outside source relate to how confinement is used in society today throughout college sports.

The other side of this argument is that college athletes don't deserve to have a salary. The college gives a full scholarship to these athlete and in return they play a sport which they love. From preschool to end of high school these athlete played for no compensation, but now since they are in college they deserve compensation. Why? Do they money to love the sport they have played their whole life? In college these athletes gain the best coaching available, free medical care and the opportunity to have an education from a high institution(Whitlock). Athletes receive free education in return for their skills. Sounds fair? I think not. If players can't get paid why are these college coaches allowed to receive large pay checks. Coach K, Dukes head basketball coach made 4.2 million dollars for the 2008 and 09 season(Golden). If these coaches make so much money because they are extremely good at coaching, why can't these players make money because they excel at their sport. Others believe that college athletes receiving compensation creates an unbalanced college campus society. But, these athletes are bringing so much profit to their universities they deserve to be treated differently(Whitlock). These athletes aren't being rewarded for anything they do. It's just the opposite the NCAA and these universities are being rewarded because of their athletes. This side of the argument is based on greedy universities that disagree with sharing the profit with the athletes. They want to keep it for themselves.

The NCAA is holding these college players from reaching their full potential. Most black athletes that haven't made it to their pro sport league are now holding minimum wage jobs(Eitzen).The compensation could have changed this. With compensation these young adults would be able to learn how to manage money and have a better future. The NCAA disagrees with this belief because of the greed. They placed policies that don't allow athletes to make their own money. These  athletes deserve respect, while they are working their butts off. The NCAA is jumping in its piles of cash. Its shocking how these athletes are the reason the universities and the NCAA is making all this money but they get no return. I propose every major division one teams athletes earns a monthly salary of $300 and allow outside exposure. This is less than 12% of what the NCAA is making. With this money college athletes could have extra money to pay for the extra meals they need, or even help out their families in need. The NCAA has no moral right to limit these athletes from reaching their full potential.